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Reclamation
''Survivor: Reclamation ''was the ninety-ninth season of Survivor. The season ended when Verity won the title of Sole Survivor, beating Jackie and Nye in a 6-2-2 jury vote at the Final Tribal Council. The season featured 20 new and five returning contestant dubbed as "castaways" marooned on five separate beaches in the Philippines. They were divided into five tribes: Kalabaw in maroon, Buwaya in green, Ulupong in teal, Pawikan in brown, and Ardilya in tan. The tribes are Tagalog words meaning water buffalo, crocodile, viper, turtle, and squirrel respectively. On Day 21, the tribes merged into the purple Salamat tribe, Tagalog for "thank you." At 13 players, this season featured the largest merge yet. The main twist this season was the return of two fan-favorite twists: Reclamation Isle (first introduced in Survivor: Second Chances) and five original tribes, last seen in Survivor: Solomon Islands. For Reclamation Isle, instead of having a starting set of castaways on the Isle, producers opted for a new strategy: at the first immunity challenge, only tribe was eligible to win immunity. The remaining four tribes went to Tribal Council and voted out one member, the four vote-offs becoming the first four occupants of Reclamation Isle. In addition, five castaways returned to lead their tribes, similar to Bermuda. ''The returning castaways were Kelly from ''Panama and Extravaganza, Eric from St. Lucia, Jennalee from Myanmar, Kyle from Venezuela, and Annalise from Jordan. Kelly's pick garnered great publicity for the season, as Kelly is highly regarded as a fan-favorite and has one of the most sympathetic exits, after being the last eliminated from her tribe in a elongated pre-merge period. This season is tied with Second Chances for the third-most castaways in a season with 25, behind Centennial ''with 100 and ''Extravaganza ''with 30. Since there were five starting tribes, producers did not want there to be five idols in the game. Therefore, three idols were hidden at immunity challenges so all players were eligible to grab them. In addition, a fourth Reclamation Immunity Idol was hidden at Reclamation; players were not alerted to this idol's existence. A special idol, it could only be played at Reclamation's eliminations. The reception to the idol was negative, because no players knew of the idol's existence, they could not cast votes accordingly and Annalise got a free choice of boot. A rule change also came about where players could not be voted out and bring their idol to Reclamation for use; it becomes null and void upon a player's initial elimination. However, should a player go to Reclamation with an Idol and reenter the game, their Idol becomes whole again. They cannot pass their idol to another Reclamation occupant. Kelly notably beat Jordan from ''Romania's record of most votes cast against. Jordan had 25 cast against him during his season. Kelly had 33 cast against her on Reclamation. This is doubly impressive considering she never went to Reclamation Isle. At the finale, a preview for Centennial aired, revealing that one castaway from each season would return, for a total of 99 contestants. Verity was revealed on-air to be the contestant returning from Reclamation. The reception to this season was highly positive, with widespread critical acclaim. The pre-merge period was praised for the amount of players playing the game and the intrigue caused by the voted off players going to Reclamation Isle. The only downside to Reclamation Isle, as pointed out by both EW and SUG, was that Sloane returned. Critics highlighted the gameplay of Jennalee, Kyle, and Kelly, who defied all producers' predictions and made it to the merge. Kelly impressively placed 6th. EW praised Calvin's "Do don't say" strategy, Eliza's "secret alliance" strategy, Kyle's repeat of his "individual game" strategy, and Kelly's "as long as it isn't me" strategy. Despite none of them leading to a win, "they were highly entertaining to watch and have definitely changed the game." Fans and critics alike were content with Verity's win, though from the onset the fan favorite was Kelly. Ultimately, the ratings for this season matched those of Bermuda and other fan-favorite seasons. Contestants The Game Voting History Reclamation Isle Jury Vote Category:Seasons Category:Final 3 Category:Five Tribes Category:Reclamation Isle